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In a purposeful opening salvo, Hereford came close to opening their account. Tom Barkhuizen’s usual instant control let him down when in a goal-scoring position. Shortly afterwards, Winnall fed Steve Leslie who swung over an inviting ball for a surging Harry Pell. The header deceived Liam O’Brien, who could only watch as the ball sailed goalwards. Agonisingly, it then crashed against the underside of the bar before being hacked to the safety of row Z. (Well probably row G, but you get the picture.) Another flowing move involving Winnall, Elder and Leslie created a chance for Barkhuizen whose shot was well saved.
Meanwhile, at the Meadow End, David Cornell touched Ricky Holmes’s snap shot over the crossbar, and followed this with a smart save from Izale McLeod. Old foe Mark Marshall engaged in some of his customary trickery, but he was well marshalled (I’ll get my coat!) by a watchful Rob Purdie. On one such occasion, Purdie stole the ball and sent Barkhuizen away on a long chase which ended with a foul from Darren Dennehy. Then the Bulls were awarded a free kick in a similar territory that led to last week’s Leslie blockbuster; this time he took aim for the opposite corner and O’Brien’s outstretched arm prevented any repeat.
Andy Todd and Stefan Stam continued in the same vein as last week’s victory over Bradford, calmly mopping up the Bees’ forward moves, and feeding the home side’s midfield. One unfortunate rebound almost allowed Holmes a shot on goal, and Holmes then resumed defensive duties to deny Elder who had been released after some fine tidying up at the back by Featherstone. Sam Deering was off target with a free kick, and Leslie did well to chase a seemingly lost cause and turn inside but the cross had too much pace.
HT: HUFC 0 BARNET 0
Gary Peters took up his favoured position beside the home dugout as the second half commenced. The busy Featherstone spotted Elder in a promising position, and some rather muted appeals for a trip on the striker went unheeded. A mazy run down the flank by Barkhuizen won a throw, one of a series which the youngster, who incidentally appears to have lost the letter “U” from his back, launched, Exocet-like, into the opponent’s penalty area. Pell got a header in, but could not direct it on target.
Leslie had another direct shot from a dead-ball which O’Brien gathered after a momentary fumble, and then he latched onto a pass from Joe Heath, cut inside, and opted to shoot when Winnall was perhaps better placed. For Barnet, Holmes sent over a dangerous swinging cross which evaded colleagues. But it was the home side who took a deserved lead. Jordan Parkes made a hash of an attempted clearance, and Leslie dashed in to win a corner. From the flag kick, with 66 minutes showing on the stopwatch, Elder got the deftest of glancing headers to the ball in a crowded six-yard box to guide it into the corner of the net past the (possibly unsighted) keeper.
Barnet set about the task of restoring parity, showing more in the way of attacking play. Stam dashed across to make a terrific block after the visitors had won a free kick, and a series of corners also produced a threat. From one of these, Cornell had to make a strong punch from under the bar to clear the danger. However, it was the Bulls who were gaining more possession. Pell got on the end of another long throw, but Elder stabbed his chance wide. Both sides made some tactical substitutions. James McQuilkin joined the fray and cleverly passed to Elder who was unfortunate to lose his footing. Pell then had an audacious shot from a ridiculous angle way out on the wing which almost surprised O’Brien, but the ball was smothered. Finally, Yoann Arquin won possession and passed to Leslie, who could not get sufficient curl on his shot to double the Bulls tally.
FT: HUFC 1 BARNET 0
Attendance; 2142, with just 93 Bees. Have you seen the price of diesel?
HUFC: Cornell, Purdie, Todd, Stam, Heath, Featherstone, Pell, Leslie, Barkhuizen, Elder (Arquin 85), Winnall (McQuilkin 74).
Barnet: O’Brien, Parkes, Dennehy, Borrowdale (Byrne 77), Kamdjo, Leach, Hughes (Owusu 77), Deering, Marshall, Holmes, McLeod.
